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Bonneville Juniors F.C.
| dissolved = | ground = Parc de Le Journal | capacity = 7,600 | owner = | chairman = | manager = Matt Holly | coach = | currentleague = League B | currentposition = | lastseason = | lastleagueb = League B | lastposition = 5th | current = | website = | firstgame = | largestwin = | worstdefeat = | topscorer = | fansgroup = | honours = | American = }} Bonneville Juniors Football Club is a professional football club based in Bonneville, St. Gregory. The team plays in League B, the second tier of the St. Gregory Football Association. Juniors was established in 1998 as a spin-off from the Bonneville United Academy, who had become the premier football development program in St. Gregory during the 1990s. Juniors played their first professional season in 1998-99 and maintained a 10-year affiliation with United, finally becoming a standalone entity in 2008. They were promoted to League A for the first time in their history in 2015. The team plays its games at the 7,600-seat Parc de Le Journal on the north-west side of Bonneville. History The roots of Bonneville Juniors go back to the formation of Bonneville United F.C., who had been formed in 1988 as a result of the merger between the defunct North Bonneville and West Bonneville clubs. Both clubs' youth programs were absorbed under the United banner for the new club's first season, 1988-89. During that season, a new and more advanced youth development program was discussed. The Bonneville United Academy was officially established on June 7, 1989, and fielded teams in under-13, under-16 and under-18, as well as an all-ages reserve team. The Academy used West Bonneville's former home ground, Parc de l'Ouest, for training and matches. The rapid growth of the Academy during the 1990s resulted in the graduation of several players who would go on to have great success both with United and elsewhere, including Greg Holloway, Caleb Chambers, Kane O'Bray and others. The United Academy were dominant in youth and reserve competition and in 1997, talks began of spinning the program off into its own professional entity. On June 9, 1998, a new club was formed, named Bonneville Juniors both as a reference to their origins and also an homage to Argentine club Boca Juniors. They were placed in League C for their first professional season, 1998-99. Players under professional or development contracts with United were allowed to choose whether to stay with the existing United Reserves and Academy system, or to join Juniors under new contracts. Juniors and United maintained an affiliation agreement, whereby players who signed youth contracts with United could be sent to the Juniors squad in a North American-style minor league assignment; additionally, if retained by Juniors until age 21, these players were available to be signed to senior contracts by Juniors or waived by United altogether. In the event of a waiver, they could sign with any SGFA club. Under SGFA rules, this allowed Juniors to compete as a professional club separate from United, but affiliated clubs are not allowed to participate in the same division, meaning Juniors were unable to earn promotion to League A – a rule that came into play when Juniors finished third in the 2007-08 League B season – and would have been automatically relegated to League C in the unlikely event United would suffer relegation to League B. It also kept the sides from meeting in the SGFA Cup. Juniors reached the 2008 SGFA Cup Final, where they lost 1-0 in extra time to Rivergate. It would be their last match as an affiliate of Bonneville United as the club officially ended their relationship with United and became a standalone entity the following week, on June 5. Their crest and colors, borrowed heavily from United, remained in place. The breaking away from United made Juniors eligible for promotion to League A, which they achieved for the first time after finishing as runners-up in League B in 2014-15. In 2017-18, Juniors lured former Union Town captain and Bonneville native Matt Holly to join the club in a bid to make an immediate return to League A. Despite being in the top two for much of the midway part of the season, they regressed to a 4th-place finish by season's end, and were eliminated from the playoffs by Otway Town. Stadium :See also: Parc de Le Journal, Parc de l'Ouest and Bonneville Oval From the team's spin-off in 1998 until 2004, Juniors played at Parc de l'Ouest, the home ground of the United Academy and previously West Bonneville. By this time, the stadium had been standing for 35 years and renovation was deemed to not be financially viable. Eventually, Parc de l'Ouest was demolished in 2004 after a final ceremonial match on July 24 of that year. Juniors spent the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons at Bonneville Oval. Parc de Le Journal – built on the site of Parc de l'Ouest and a short distance from United's home ground, Ford Stadium – opened on September 2, 2006. Colors, crest and nickname Juniors' colors have remained largely unchanged since they were established as the Bonneville United Academy. The crest, designed in 1998 for their professional debut, incorporates the explorer and wheel elements from United's crest along with two green quarters with symbols of youth and education. The team is nicknamed Les Jeunes Bleus (The Young Blues), a reference to their relation Bonneville United and that club's nickname, Les Bleus. Kits Juniors' uniforms have been supplied by adidas since that company's relationship with United began. They continued on as shirt supplier after Juniors became a standalone club. The shirt sponsor is Bonneville's primary daily newspaper, Le Journal de Bonneville, who also sponsor their stadium. Players Current squad : As of August 14, 2019 Note: Players without a flag are from St. Gregory. Players with an asterisk (*) are from outside the United States or its territories, or have represented a non-U.S. territory at international level, but hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. and thus do not count towards the league cap on foreign players. Out on loan Former players :Further information: Category:Bonneville Juniors F.C. players Honors * League B :*''Runners-up (1): 2014-15 * 'SGFA Cup' :*''Runners-up (1): 2007-08 Category:Bonneville Juniors F.C. Category:Club pages